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It was an assault above precision when Reymart Gaballo scored a hotly contested split decision victory against Emmanuel Rodríguez of Puerto Rico to win the World Boxing Council Interim Bantamweight Championship on Saturday night (Sunday morning Manila time) at the Mohegan Sun Casino. in Uncasville Connecticut.
Replacing Nonito Donaire, who tested positive for COVID-19 in early December, Gaballo took a significant step in opposition by taking on Rodriguez. Although the Puerto Rican had fewer fights, his opponents were significantly better including Naoya Inoue in his last fight.
After 12 rounds, two of the judges scored for Gaballo (116-112 and 115-113) while the third scored the fight 118-110 for Rodriguez. Gaballo kept his record clean, earning his 24th win, while Rodriguez suffered his second straight loss to fall to 19-2.
Gaballo started the match by throwing heavy leather while Rodriguez stayed outside, waiting for the Filipino to enter. The Puerto Rican used his stiff jab to keep Gaballo off balance, but failed to dissuade the 24-year-old General. Santos City to force the action forward.
The first three rounds went the same way. Gaballo advanced and threw more, while Rodríguez was more economical but also more precise with his punches.
The Puerto Rican found the opening he was looking for in the fourth round when he staggered Gaballo with a forehand entering. Gaballo’s legs shook but luckily he escaped a fall by landing on the ropes. His right glove also missed scrutiny by just a couple of inches with the referee right on top of the action.
The Filipino recovered very well for the rest of the fourth round, as he also cut open his enemy’s bridge of noes.
Rodriguez continued to pick his spots from the outside as Gaballo found it difficult to land clean shots. The 28-year-old Puerto Rican worked smart, only letting go of his hands when he knew his aggressive opponent was no longer in position to throw heavy leather.
Gaballo found his opening in the eighth round when he hurt Rodriguez with a perfect left hook. However, the veteran overcame it and recovered before the Filipino could inflict more damage.
Rodriguez then returned the favor in the next round when he staggered Gaballo again at the start of the 10th with another stiff jab, but the Filipino kept moving forward and stayed active, convincing two of the judges to score more rounds for him.
It is the second time that Gaballo has won an interim title, as he also won the WBA interim bantamweight title with a win over Stephon Young in 2018.
Going forward for Gaballo, the target should be Nordine Oubaali, the WBC bantamweight champion on hiatus, who was originally supposed to face Donaire on the undercard.
Naoya Inoue holds the WBA and IBF versions of the world title, while John Riel Casimero is the WBO champion.
